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K-1 is back and so are we. After a month without hearing Rian Scalia (@rianscalia) and myself (@liverkickdotcom / @dvewlsh) talking about Kickboxing, we are at it again. The K-1 World Grand Prix in Los Angeles happened and here are our thoughts from after the show.

Join myself and Rian Scalia as we prattle on for about 40 minutes about K-1.

Yet another weekend where the Kickboxing world gives us something of note to digest. This weekend was the K-1 World Grand Prix Final 16 in Tokyo, and there was a lot to talk about. On top of that, we talk about Lion Fight 7 and more. Join Rian Scalia (@rianscalia) and myself (@LiverKickdotcom / @dvewlsh) as we run through the K-1 World Grand Prix Final 16, a look at the field moving forward and other stuff.

This weekend was huge for Kickboxing. Firstly, It's Showtime promoted It's Showtime 57&58, featuring some very important fights and putting on an incredibly entertaining card. That wasn't it, though, was it? On top of that, Glory Sports International announced -- from that show -- that they had purchased It's Showtime and will absorb It's Showtime's staff and fighters into the Glory team, shaking the Kickboxing world up like never before. Rian Scalia (@rianscalia) and myself (@dvewlsh / @liverkickdotcom) talk you through what was a historic weekend for Kickboxing.

This week we bring you something a bit newer and different, as Rian Scalia (@rianscalia) and myself (@LiverKickdotcom) come to you for the first time with the LiverKick podcast. We kick off with this, a test of sorts, which we recorded on Saturday night after all of the excitement surrounding the UFC show and the Amir Khan fight. There was not exactly a ton of happenings within the world of Kickboxing, but we decided to go over the fan-generated list of Fights of the Year that they've submitted.

Look for an official poll from us soon so you can vote for the Fight of the Year! We also discuss what is going on with FIKA, Cro Cop returning to K-1 action and what to look forward to in 2012.

In a move that might seem sudden to some, Daniel Ghita will be moving his base of operations to the United States in the near future. The move comes at the behest of Alistair Overeem, who recently inked an agreement with the "Blackzilian" camp in Florida that is run by Authentic Sports Management, led by Glenn Robinson. Now, if your question is why would Daniel Ghita move to the United States because of Alistair Overeem moving there, the answer is simple; Daniel Ghita has been a vital part of Alistair Overeem's recent training and has become such an asset that Overeem wanted to lock him up.

This comes after there were rumors that Junior Dos Santos was trying to bring Daniel Ghita into his camp to help prepare for Alistair Overeem, knowing that Ghita had worked with Overeem on his last fight and would be a good sparring partner as well. We confirmed this with Anil Dubar earlier in the week, but at that point there had been no decision yet. There is a good chance that when Overeem and his people found out about JDS trying to lure Ghita to Brazil there became an immediate need to lock down Daniel Ghita to ensure he wasn't snatched up.

Ghita's home base will be in Florida now, but he has spoken to Sport.ro and said that his focus is still on competing in Kickboxing (noted: K-1), but he will also be training with UFC fighters as well. This will probably bring about rumors of Ghita making a switch to MMA, but as we saw from Tyrone Spong, training in a camp with MMA fighters will not exactly negate your skills as a Kickboxer and Ghita should be fine training for future bouts there.

Update: Anil Dubar confirmed to us that Ghita will only be staying there for two months.

I'm not joking, Josh Barnett and Jerome Le Banner will square off on August 27th at the Ryogoku Kokugikan -- Japan's Sumo Hall, and this bout between the titans will be for a world championship. Who is promoting this bout? None other than Antonio Inoki, the grandfather of MMA in Japan and a pro wrestling celebrity. It is hard to believe that the MMA world and the Kickboxing world will be colliding like this, until you realize that it is under Inoki's IGF banner, which is professional wrestling.

Yes, Josh Barnett of Strikeforce fame will take on Jerome Le Banner of K-1 fame to declare the first IGF World Champion in August. IGF ran a tournament on the 10th in Japan that involved some pretty big names, including Ray Sefo, Eric Hammer, Josh Barnett, Jerome Le Banner and Bobby Lashley. Eric Hammer tapped Ray Sefo out in the qualifying round with an armbar, Josh Barnett tapped Bobby Lashley out with an armbar as well in the semi-finals. Hammer met Jerome Le Banner in the semi-finals by knocking him down five times, which sets up Barnett vs. Le Banner in the finals.

LiverKick is on top of your kickboxing needs, as always, and after a weekend like this, well, your needs should be met. If they aren't, we are here to help. If you aren't one of those guys who frequents forums, then there is a chance that you haven't had your fill of banter, you are in the right place. That's right, instead of resting on our laurels, Rian Scalia and myself sat down and talked the talk that was needed after the two big shows this weekend. We dissect both the Glory World Series event as well as the K-1 card, take a look at the good, the bad and the downright ugly, as well as what to look for in the future.

It was only a matter of time before K-1 finalized their May 27th fight card, and now they've done just that. On top of the MAX line-up which was announced earlier on Friday, additional Superfights were announced late Friday evening via press release. A big question is the inclusion of Mosab Amrani vs. Zeben Diaz and how both men seem like a better fit than a fighter like Gago Drago who has fallen on tough times of late and might not belong in the K-1 World MAX Grand Prix. The big fights are at Heavyweight and are worth marveling at. The additional fights are as follows:

We are very pleased to announce that on May 26th LiverKick.com will be partnering with Glory Sports International to bring you the live stream of the big Glory event in Stockholm, Sweden. On May 26th Glory will kickoff their World Series of Kickboxing tournaments with the First 16 for the 70kg division while also hosting a slew of super fights, including Gokhan Saki vs. Carter Williams and Semmy Schilt vs. Errol Zimmerman.

As mentioned, we will be partnering with Glory to host the PPV right here on LiverKick, so you do not need to leave your favorite source for Kickboxing news and coverage on fight day. The event costs $15 and will begin at 12:30pm Eastern time/9:30am Pacific time/18:30 GMT +2. Go ahead and bookmark this page, as this will be where you go to order the event on fight day. All you have to do is click the "play" arrow on the video and then click the "Buy Access to this Event" button and it should be pretty straightforward from there. If you just want to watch the event, make sure to click "Single Video Access" when you're in the process of buying it.

To many fans, Zack Mwekassa's brutal knockout on Pat Barry was a surprise, including the thousands in attendance on Saturday night. Mwekassa had made a name for himself for the fans who were watching, but he also proved a point; Kickboxing is a very different sport than MMA. Pat Barry voluntarily left the UFC after two brutal knockout losses to lesser opponents, Shawn Jordan and Soa Paleli. The big story, though, was that Pat Barry had chosen to fight for GLORY over fighting for the UFC.